Courtesy of a friend ( s/o Casey Conner), I received a hard copy of a movie that I was criticized for never having previously watched. This movie is Hook, an adaptation of Peter Pan. Since I was not yet born in 1991 when this movie was released, I believe I deserve some leeway. However, I am now about to start William’s Hook as I type this sentence.
The movie begins as Robin Williams, coincidentally named Peter Panning, is watching his daughter act in her school play, Peter Pan. During the performance, he is distracted by a phone call from a coworker, in which he schedules a business meeting for the next morning during his son’s, Jackie’s, baseball game. He promises his son he will still go, but fails to hold true to his word.
It is obvious that Williams plays a more uptight character in Hook. Peter is witty, but is much more serious that either of Williams previous two characters from my blogposts. On a plane ride to London (terrifying for Peter), he snaps at his son for throwing a baseball. “What the hell is the matter with you? When are you going to stop acting like a child?” To which Jackie responds, “I am a child.” Williams plays a character whose life is out of balance, which contrasts his well liked, near flawless heroes he played before Hook.
As the backstory emerged, I learned that Peter was an orphan, whose “grandmother” took him in at the age of 12. His grandmother was the famous author of the fairy tale Peter Pan. While at a banquet to honor his grandmother’s philanthropy, Williams children are taken from their beds by a Captain James Hook. This is when Peter’s grandmother asks him “Peter, don’t you know who you are?” He is THE Peter Pan.
Unfortunately I cannot blog about every funny or meaningful scene in this movie, but these scenes will be remembered by myself and others who have watched his movies nonetheless. Because I do not blog about a Williams’ movie does not make it not worth blogging about. If I had to, I could continue this blog for a whole year, just based on the all the roles Robin Williams played in his life.
This week marked the third straight week watching a new Robin William’s film for the first time. Looking back at my last few blogs, I realize that I was uneducated in the ways of early Robin William’s movies at the beginning of this semester. For these posts, I am only choosing the most famous of his performances. There were several other movies that he performed in between Good Morning Vietnam, The Dead Poet’s Society, and Hook.
Between 1989 and 1991, some lesser known films that Williams played some form of role in include Cadillac Man, Awakenings, Dead Again, and The Fisher King. (imdv. Look at this list of movies, its amazing.) I choose not to blog about these for your sake, my readers, so that you are not stuck reading a blogpost about William’s role in a movie you’ve never heard of before this point. By choosing memorable, hilarious, poignant movies, I hope to remind everyone of the emotion that Williams brought to not only the silver screen, but also the world.
“To live would be an awfully big adventure.”
Tate S Chen says
Robin Williams will go down as one of the best comedians of all time. No one will ever be able to replace him.
Laura Rohan says
I never really knew what this movie was about before. In my mind, I had always just imagined it as a strange version of Peter Pan (which i guess it is, but in a less direct sense than I imagined). It sounds like a good movie though. I’ll have to watch it sometime. Thanks!
Ilayda Jinjee Orankoy says
I’ve never seen Hook before either, but I will definitely add this to my list. It sounds fun, and I’m a sucker for fairy-tale reboots.
Caitlin Kushnir says
I loved Hook! Robin Williams was such a diverse actor, and althought Hook was a lighthearted film, it still proved his greatness. Peter Pan is great. Robin Williams is great. End of story.
Julianne Elizabeth Arcamone says
I’ve personally never seen Hook but it sounds like good rendition of Peter Pan and I will definitely look into it. Robbin Williams was such an iconic actor and his contributions to the acting world will never be forgotten by his fans.
Pratiti Roy says
Well, that’s another movie to put on my ever-growing to watch list. I’d never heard about this one before, so thanks!